Mozambique and South Africa on Friday agreed to speed up work on new energy-production projects to benefit both countries, South African Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said. This was among several issues discussed at a one-day binational commission in Maputo, also attended by President Thabo Mbeki.

Company black-empowerment levels must be considered before firms benefit from international export agreements, Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana said on Friday. "The government has opened the doors for not one race, or one sex ... but for all the people of South Africa," she told agriculture sector partners in Boksburg.

The newly established Isivande Women's Fund is a step towards reducing poverty among women, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Monday. Unveiling the fund logo to business and media at the presidential guest house in Pretoria, the deputy president said it will help mainly black woman entrepreneurs.

The new National Lottery operator, Gidani, has recorded eight million ticket transactions despite all the hiccups that saw the game suspended for more than seven months. "This was clearly a sterling performance," Gidani's public affairs corporate executive Thembi Tulwana said Monday.

South Africa's consumers will continue to fuel economic growth as their incomes increase, a government minister said on Wednesday. Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa told Parliament on Wednesday the economy had gone through structural changes and consumer spending will be resilient.

African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma will be spending the rest of this week at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. "He has been invited there in his capacity as president of the ANC," party spokesperson Tiyani Rikhotso said on Tuesday.

What does President Thabo Mbeki like to do in his spare time? Ballroom dancing? Playing the piano? No, the man likes to work during leisure hours, says his spokesperson. As the ruling party's national conference in Polokwane approaches members of the South African Cabinet certainly need ways to unwind.